Beautiful Antique Iron Rake-Hoe Head slip painted perhaps even more so for

perhaps even more so for the fact of having two of its drawers missing

and the sheaf of wheat below tied with a ribbon that runs just to the very edge of the picture frame

I like utilitarian signs that have the capacity to signal meaning based on context

giving the piece a great  sweetness and tenderness

Beautiful Antique Iron Rake-Hoe Head slip painted perhaps even more so forSuch a beautiful form, looking rather like a creature on four spindly legs holding up a sign, or, the other way, like a body with antler or antenna, arms raised and legs spread. I believe it is an antique iron garden "rake hoe" head, c. late 19th century, I believe by its scale for a hand held tool; by the early 20th c. these more typically divided into two separate tools. Striking now hung on the wall; the round opening at center is also just the